Royal wedding sees VisitBritain profile rocket on web

VisitBritain"s internet profile went through the roof in the lead up to the royal wedding, with its twitter feed entering the top 1% most influential users.

The national tourism agency said its Facebook page Love UK also saw an almost doubling of fans in the five days leading up to the big day, from 255,000 to 1.3 million.

The agency says discussion started by its Twitter hashtag #VisitBritain and mentions of royal wedding articles on the VisitBritain super blog reached more than two million in 48 hours which pushed the feed"s Klout score, the standard measure of influence, over 71 - putting it in the top 1%.

Global internet service provider Akamai also states that the royal wedding was the sixth largest web event in history. The BBC says more than two billion people watched the event globally.

VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said: "Our strategy was to use the interest in this event - and the ensuing global media coverage - to showcase Britain and boost its appeal to visitors.

"Our history and pageantry and our ability to welcome and host a global party was seen by millions of prospective visitors around the world.

"This marks the start of our four-year marketing programme. With events such as the Queen"s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Games in prospect, we want to take a message of warmth, fun and celebration to the world and send out an invitation to visit Britain."